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ScB 


ADDRESS 


ST.  ANDREW'S  UNIVERSITY  MISSIONARY 
SOCIETY, 

ON  THE  DUTY  OF 

PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

IN  THE  WORK  OF 


MISSIONS. 


BY  JOHN   URaUHART, 
Late  of  the  University  of  St.   Andrew's, 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  following  Dissertation,  by  the  lamented  John 
Urquhart,  will  not  be  an  inappropriate  addition  to  the 
excellent  and  seasonable  article  which  immediately  pre- 
cedes it.  It  is  a  subject  of  absorbing  interest  at  all  times, 
especially  so  at  the  present  crisis ;  and  we  need  line 
upon  line,  and  precept  upon  precept,  to  make  and  to 
keep  its  proper  impression  on  our  hearts.  The  follow- 
ing extract  from  the  Life  of  this  extraordinary  youth, 
will  show  in  what  estimation  this  essay  was  held  by  the 
Society  before  which  it  was  delivered,  as  well  as  by  the 
gifted  biographer.  We  earnestly  recommend  the  entire 
work  to  the  serious  perusal  of  every  student  of  Divinity. 

EDITOR. 


Extract  from  Orme's  Memoirs  of  J.  Urquhart. 

"  Very  far  be  it  from  me  to  write  a  single  sentence 
that  might  diminish  the  force,  or  detract  from  the  ear- 
nestness of  this  energetic  and  eloquent  appeal. 

"  On  the  society  to  which  it  was  read,  it  produced  a 
most  powerful  effect ;  and  on  their  minutes  they  have 


142  ADVERTISEMENT. 

made  the  following  entry  of  that  impression  : — '  Never, 
probably,  in  any  association,  had  such  an  address,  on 
such  a  subject,  been  before  delivered.  To  say  that  it 
was  most  eloquent,  most  solemn,  most  affecting,  the  pro- 
duction of  a  mind  of  mighty  grasp  ;  sedulously  and  con- 
tinuously  directed  to  one  single  object  of  mightiest  im- 
port, may  convey  to  those  who  heard  it  not,  some  idea 
of  the  impression  produced  by  it.' 

"  I  trust  it  is  destined  to  touch  the  hearts  of  many, 
whom  the  living  voice  of  the  author  never  could  have 
reached.  I  envy  not  the  understanding,  or  the  feelings 
of  that  individual,  who  can  read  the  address  without  ex- 
periencing a  higher  emotion  than  that  of  admiration. 
It  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the  deep  earnest- 
ness of  the  advocate,  the  cogency  of  his  reasoning,  and 
the  affection  and  simplicity  of  his  manner.  Here  are 
'  thoughts  that  breathe,  and  words  that  burn,'  on  a  sub- 
ject the  most  momentous  which  can  engage  the  mind  of 
man," 


ADDRESS. 


I  AM  tired  of  arguing  with  the  opponents  of  the  mis- 
sionary cause.  It  ia  my  intention  this  evening  to 
address  myself  to  those  who  profess  to  be  its  friends. 

I  can  easily  conceive  a  mind  so  biassed  by  prejudice, 
as  to  take  a  distorted  view  of  every  argument  that  can 
be  adduced  on  this,  or  indeed  on  any  other  subject 
whatever; — or,  a  mind  moving  in  such  a  sphere  as 
never  to  have  had  these  arguments  fairly  presented  to 
it;  and,  therefore,  I  am  by  no  means  disposed  to  speak 
roundly  of  all  who  refuse  to  lend  their  aid  to  missionary 
societies,  in  a  tone  of  unequivocal  condemnation.  But 
I  do  confess,  I  cannot  imagine  a  mind  which  has  deli- 
berately weighed  the  arguments,  and  candidly  consi- 
dered the  facts  of  this  important  subject,  still  refusing  to 
embark  its  energies  or  its  influence,  in  some  way  or 
other,  in  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Indeed,  the  cause  of  Missions  has  already  met 
with  such  able  defence,  and  the  arguments  of  its  oppo. 
nents'have  been  so  often  refuted,  that  they  themselves 
seem  to  be  almost  sick  of  the  very  sound  of  their  oft 
repeated  objections.  And,  more  than  this,  as  if  to  show 
that  the  subject  is  quite  impregnable,  even  at  those 
points  which  the  adversaries  have  never  assailed,  the 
M  2 


144  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

advocates  for  the  promulgation  of  Christianity,  like  the 
advocates  for  the  truth  of  Christianity  before  them,  have 
ever  brought  forward  fictitious  objections  of  their  own 
invention,  in  order  to  demonstrate  with  what  perfect 
ease  such  objections  could  have  been  met,  had  the  adver- 
saries of  the  cause  adduced  them.  And  truly  after  the 
champions  of  the  Missionary  cause  have  done  their  part 
so  well,  it  seems  altogether  needless  still  to  keep  up  the 
debate  witht  those  who  seem  determined  to  resist  the 
appeals  of  the  most  cogent  reasoning,  and  event  o  set  at 
nought  the  authority  of  human  testimony.  For  of  those 
who  persist  in  denying  the  efficacy  of  missionary  exer- 
tion, it  may  in  truth  be  said,  that  they  "will  not  believe 
the  great  work  which  the  Lord  is  working  in  these  days, 
even  though  a  man  declare  it  unto  them."  Surely, 
then,  we  cannot  justly  be  charged  with  a  want  of  cha- 
rity, when  thus  compelled  to  the  belief  that,  after  all,  this 
pretended  opposition  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  our 
adversaries,  is  nothing  but  a  screen  for  the  coldness  and 
indifference  of  their  hearts. 

I  turn,  therefore,  altogether  at  present  from  those 
who  oppose  these  exertions  of  Christian  philanthropy, 
and  address  myself  to  the  friends  of  Missions.  I  ad- 
dress myself  to  you,  who,  by  being  the  members  of  a 
Missionary  Society,  profess  yourselves  the  advocates 
and  supporters  of  this  benevolent  scheme;  and,  more 
especially,  to  those  of  you  who,  by  entering  on  a  course 
of  study  preparatory  to  the  duties  of  the  Christian 
Ministry,  have  thereb}'^  professed  to  devote  yourselves 
unreservedly  to  the  service  of  God,  in  the  Gospel  of  his 
Son. 


IN  THE  WORK  or  MISSIONS.  145 

And  I  do  not  address  you,  my  friends,  for  the  purpose 
of  again  repeating-  those  unmeaning-  compliments  that 
are  wont  to  be  presented  to  the  subscribers  and  office, 
bearers  of  missionary  societies,  at  such  meetings  as  the 
present.  I  do  fear  that  there  is  too  much  of  the  tone  of 
this  world's  flattering-  adulation  in  the  public  language 
of  our  missionary  assemblies.  The  doctrine  of  this 
essay  may  be  unpalatable,  but  I  believe  it  to  be  true, 
that  the  members  of  missionarj'  associations  have  abso- 
lutely done  nothing,  when  we  consider  the  high  de- 
mands of  a  cause  whose  object  is  the  spiritual  and 
moral  renovation  of  a  world.  Neither  do  I  address  you 
for  the  purpose  of  picturing  forth  in  the  colouring  of  a 
romance,  the  high  devotedness  of  the  missionary  cha- 
racter, and  lofty  achievements  of  the  missionary  life. 
This  has  often  been  done  already;  but  like  most  other 
poetic  descriptions,  while  it  has  excited  the  imagina- 
tion, it  has  failed  to  influence  the  conduct.  It  may 
have  caused  him  who  listened  to  indulge  in  some  fairy 
dream  of  exile  and  martyrdom  for  the  sake  of  his  reli- 
gion and  his  Saviour;  while  all  the  while  it  is  quite 
possible  that  not  only  he,  but  even  the  very  person  who 
drew  the  splendid  picture,  may  have  remained  alto- 
gether unimpressed  with  the  sober  convictions  of  a  duty 
his  imagination  had  set  forth  in  such  glowing  charac- 
ters. In  reality,  this  has  been  the  case.  One  cannot 
help  wondering,  that  of  the  many  who  have  pleaded  so 
earnestly  for  the  cause  of  Missions,  and  have  declaimed 
so  eloquently  concerning  the  high  dignity  of  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise ;   so  few  have  been  found  who  were 


146  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

willing  to  go  forth  to  the  combat.  It  seems  to  me,  that 
while  the  enemies  of  Missions  have  altogether  despised 
and  vilified  the  missionary  office,  the  advocates  of  Mis- 
sions have  erred  in  the  other  extreme,  by  regarding  it 
with  somewhat  of  a  sentimental  admiration,  and  by 
describing  it  rather  as  a  work  of  supererogation  than  of 
duty. 

We  have  been  too  much  accustomed  to  regard  the 
missionary  life  as  an  undertaking  of  most  extraordinary 
magnitude,  and  as  reserved  for  a  few  of  the  most  daring 
and  devoted  spirits  in  the  race  of  living  Christians ;  and 
thus  we  easily  succeed  in  pushing  from  ourselves  the 
duty  of  personal  engagement.  But  we  would  do  well 
to  view  the  matter  apart  from  this  borrowed  splendour, 
which,  by  its  glare,  obscures  rather  than  brightens  the 
object  of  our  contemplation.  After  all,  the  greater  part 
of  the  work  must  be  accomplished  by  ordinary  men. 
And  I  am  persuaded,  if  we  but  take  a  candid  and  sober 
view  of  the  case,  we  shall  begin  to  suspect  that  the 
matter  may  come  home  in  the  shape  of  duty,  even  to 
ourselves.  Great  as  are  the  sacrifices  the  missionary 
makes,  they  are  but  small  when  we  take  into  account 
those  sublime  truths  which  we  believe  as  well  as  he. 
And  it  is  of  the  very  deepest  importance  that  we  should 
bear  in  mind  that  those  very  sacrifices  are  represented 
in  the  Bible,  not  as  the  fruits  of  an  overreaching  faith 
which  may  fall  to  the  lot  of,  but  here  and  there  a  mind 
of  apostolic  endowment;  but  as  the  test  of  simple  disci- 
pleship  itself  "  If  any  man  come  to  me  and  hate  not 
Iiis    father,  and   mother,  and  wife  and  children,  and 


IX  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  147 

brethren  and  sisters,  yea,  and  liis  own  life  also,  he  can- 
not be  my  disciple."  If  by  these,  and  the  remarks  that 
follow,  I  can  impress  the  mind  of  any  one  of  you  with 
the  duty  of  engaging  in  this  great  undertaking,  let  me 
warn  such  an  individual  of  the  delusion  of  putting  such 
convictions  away  from  him  on  the  ground  that  this  is  a 
work  far  too  high  for  him  to  engage  in ;  or  under  the 
deceitful  impression  that  his  shrinking  from  such  an 
enterprise  is  a  sign  merely  that  his  faith  is  weak,  and 
has  not  yet  acquired  sufficient  strength  to  warrant  his 
engaging  in  a  work  of  such  difficulty  and  self-denial. 
If  the  words  of  Christ  be  true,  which  I  have  just 
repeated,  to  shrink  from  duty,  even  in  the  face  of  all  the 
trials  that  present  themselves  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  missionary  life,  does  not  argue  a  weakness  of  faith 
merely,  but  a  want  of  faith.  The  man  who  is  not  ready 
to  part  with  country,  and  even  life  itself,  at  the  bidding 
of  his  Saviour,  is  not  worthy  of  the  name  of  a  disciple. 

Now  were  it  not  that  the  minds  of  all  of  us,  in  regard 
to  this  subject,  are  under  the  influence  of  most  overpow- 
ering and  bewildering  prejudices,  I  am  sure  I  should 
only  have  to  lay  before  you  the  present  state  of  mission- 
ary operations,  in  order  to  convince  you  of  the  duty  of 
taking  the  question  into  most  serious  consideration, 
"  whether  you  may  not  be  called  to  engage  in  this  work 
of  evangelizing  the  Heathen?"  You  give  your  assent 
to  the  duty  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  pagan  countries, 
and  by  your  subscriptions  you  profess  yourselves  wil- 
ling to  co-operate  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  grand 
object.    And,  so  far,  you  have  done  well.     You  may 


148  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

have  thought  you  were  doing  all  that  was  in  your 
power  for  the  furtherance  of  the  great  design,  and  you 
may  have  never  once  suspected  that  there  was  any  call 
for  greater  services  on  your  part.  But  if  I  can  con- 
vince  you,  that  there  is  such  a  call,  then,  on  the  sim- 
ple score  of  consistency,  you  are  bound  to  listen  to  it, 
and  to  obey  it.  For,  if  this  matter  demands  our  atten- 
tion at  aU,  it  demands  our  deepest  attention ;  if  it  has 
a  right  to  our  services  at  all,  it  has  a  right  to  our  most 
devoted  services.  If  you  are  not  prepared  to  make 
greater  sacrifices  in  this  cause  than  you  have  ever  yet 
done,  when  manifestly  called  to  do  so,  then  the  little 
you  have  done  will  only  serve  most  clearly  to  condemn 
you.  Others,  who  deny  the  importance,  or  disbelieve 
the  efficacy  of  the  missionary  project,  may  have  some 
plausible  excuse  for  standing  aloof:  they  are  at  least 
consistent  with  their  own  profession.  But,  assuredly, 
it  does  convict  us  of  singular  hard-heartedness  towards 
our  fellow  men,  if  our  zeal  for  their  conversion  can 
carry  us  the  length  of  giving  up  a  few  paltry  shillings, 
which  were  not  surrendered,  it  may  be,  at  the  expense 
of  a  single  confort, — and  that  our  zeal  can  carry  us  no 
farther.  We  might  pardon,  though  we  could  not 
defend,  the  incredulity  of  the  individual  who  would  not 
believe  that  some  family  near  v/as  in  a  state  of  starva- 
tion; but  we  should  utterly  detest  the  sordid  avarice 
and  unfeeling  apathy  of  the  man  who,  by  giving  some- 
thing, should  just  show  us  that  he  gave  credit  to  the 
tale  of  suffering,  and  who  yet,  by  the  worthlessness  of 
the   trifle   which   he   gave,  should  let  us  see  that  the 


IX  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  149 

wretchedness  of  his  neiglibour  had  made  no  suitable 
impression  on  his  lieart. 

Now,  I  say,  there  is  a  call  for  much  more  devoted 
services  on  your  part,  than  you  have  ever  yet  rendered 
in  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  nations.  If  we  are 
disposed  to  estimate  the  prosperity  of  the  missionary 
cause  from  the  sums  that  are  annually  poured  into  its 
coffers,  we  should  indeed  augur  well  of  its  success. 
But  you  are  aware,  that  after  all,  money  is  but  a  subor- 
dinate part  of  the  apparatus.  It  may  be  the  main 
spring  of  the  machine,  but  it  is  not  the  machine  itself. 
The  agents,  who  go  forth  to  the  work,  are  the  effective 
part  of  the  mechanism.  And  what  avails  it,  that  we 
have  obtained  a  good  moving  power,  if  there  be  no 
machine  to  set  it  in  motion.  A  good  will  to  the  cause 
of  Missions  has  been  on  the  increase,  but  there  is  every 
reason  to  fear  that  the  spirit  of  missionary  zeal  is  on  the 
decline.  It  has  grown  more  fashionable  of  late  to  sub- 
scribe to  missionary  societies  :  in  consequence  of  this, 
the  revenues  of  the  different  societies  have  been  so 
increased,  as  would  enable  them  to  extend  their  plans, 
could  they  but  find  a  sufRcicnt  number  of  zealous  and 
devoted  agents.  But  such  is  the  languishing  state  of 
missionary  zeal, — so  little  is  there  of  what  Home  would 
call  "  a  passion  for  missions,"  that  it  is  with  consider- 
able difficulty  the  present  stations  can  be  supplied  ;  and, 
in  such  circumstances,  it  is  altogether  vain  to  talk  of 
extending  the  plan  of  missionary  Operations. 

When  first  the  proposal  was  made  to  send  the  heralds 
of  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  the  Christian  world 


150  TERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

received  the  proposal  with  eagerness  and  joy.  A  splen- 
did  equipment  was  fitted  out,  and  many  were  desirous 
of  sharing  the  honours  of  the  victory  that  was  so  confi- 
dently and  so  ardently  anticipated.  But  the  novelty  of 
the  missionary  enterprise  is  gone ;  and  it  would  seem 
that  the  spirit  of  undaunted  chivalr}'-  which  a  scheme  of 
such  lofty  sublimity,  and  such  disinterested  benevo- 
lence,  at  first  excited,  has  languished,  and  well  nigh 
expired,  under  the  heavy  pressure  of  those  difficulties 
and  discouragements  which  an  actual  experiment  has 
brought  to  light. 

The  Scottish  Missionary  Society  is  in  want  of 
labourers ; — the  London  Missionary  Society  is  in  want 
of  labourers ; — the  Church  Missionary  Society  (to  the 
shame  of  the  churchmen  of  England  be  it  told)  have  for 
some  time  been  compelled  to  gather  the  missionaries, 
whom  they  send  fortli,  from  the  other  countries  of 
Europe.  And,  to  sum  up  all,  even  among  the  Mora- 
vians themselves,  so  famed  for  the  devotedness  of  their 
missionary  zeal,  that  spirit  of  other  days,  which  could 
brook  slavery  and  death  for  the  sake  of  Jesus,  would 
seem  to  have  died  away.  Of  them,  it  once  could  be 
said,  that,  no  sooner  was  a  missionary  station  vacant, 
than  there  was  an  eager  competition  who  should  have 
the  honour  to  supply  it ;  for  then  it  was  counted  an 
honour,  for  the  love  they  bore  to  Christ,  to  succeed  to  a 
dreary  station,  amid  eternal  snows,  or  to  fill  the  places 
of  those  who  had  fallen  by  the  murderous  hand  of  the 
savages  for  whose  sakes  they  had  left  their  country  and 
home.     But  now  there  is  a  difficulty  in  finding  persons 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  151 

willing  to  go  even  to  stations  of  ordinary  comfort  and 
ease.  In  this  state  of  matters,  what  avails  the  increase 
of  missionary  funds  ?  Do  you  not  feel  that  there  is  a 
loud  call  for  something  more  than  mere  subscriptions  ? 
And  to  whom  can  this  appeal  be  made,  but  to  the  mem- 
bers  of  missionary  associations  ?  And  on  whom  can  it 
be  urged  home  more  forcibly  than  those  who  have  pro- 
fessed to  surrender  the  whole  energies  of  their  minds 
and  their  bodies  to  the  promulgation  of  the  religion  of 
Christ? 

This  is  a  statement  of  facts,  and  such  a  statement,  I  am 
sure,  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  call  forth  the  willing  offer 
of  his  services,  from  any  one  who  believes  in  the  efficacy 
of  Missionary  exertion,  and  who  is  not  tied  down  by 
some  peculiar  circumstances  to  his  native  land,  were  it 
not  that  the  mind  is  driven  from  its  convictions  of  duty, 
by  prejudices  and  affections,  the  strongest  that  can  in- 
fluence our  nature — and  I  will  even  say,  the  purest  that 
can  oppose  the  will  of  God.  Accordingly,  I  have  found 
in  my  own  experience,  that  even  those  who  are  most 
liberal  in  their  donations  to  Missionary  Societies,  and 
most  active  in  spreading  among  their  friends,  a  spirit  of 
good  will  to  this  work  of  Christian  philanthropy,  im- 
mediately abate  their  ardour,  and  turn  upon  another 
tack,  so  soon  as  the  duty  of  personal  engagement  is 
pressed  home  upon  themselves,  or  even  upon  any  of  their 
near  relations.  Those  who  are  most  strenuous  in  their 
arguments  for  the  general  cause  of  Missions,  instantly 
start  objections  to  the  proposal  of  themselves  becoming 
Missionaries.  A  thousand  plausible  arguments  imme- 
N 


152  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

diately  present  themselves.  Our  own  country  has  much 
higher  claims  upon  us, — all  are  not  yet  converted  here. 
Besides,  the  success  of  Missionaries  has  not  been  very 
great  3  and  we  think  we  can  do  more  good  by  remaining 
at  home.  Such  arguments,  when  in  the  mouth  of  an 
opponent  to  the  general  cause  of  Missions,  none  so  for- 
ward to  answer,  or  so  eloquent  in  refuting  as  they;  and 
yet  to  the  very  same  refuges  do  they  betake  themselves, 
when  we  merely  carry  out  a  httle  farther,  and  make  a 
new  application  of  their  own  previous  assertions. 

Nor  do  I  at  all  wonder  at  this,  though  I  cannot  apolo- 
gize for  it.  The  ties  which  binds  us  to  our  country  and 
our  home,  cannot  be  so  easily  broken.  The  love  which 
we  bear  to  parents,  and  sisters,  and  brothers,  and  a 
whole  circle  of  affectionate  friends,  is  perhaps  the  strong- 
est  passion  that  has  its  seat  in  the  human  breast;  and 
Christianity,  far  from  impairing,  refines  and  strengthens 
the  attachment.  The  land  which  gave  us  birth,  and 
where  our  fathers  lived  before  us, — and  the  companions 
of  our  youth, — and  the  affectionate  guardians  of  our  ten- 
der infancy, — are  objects  which  most,  of  earthly  things, 
deserve  our  love.  There  is  but  one,  and  only  one  Being 
in  the  universe,  whom  we  are  commanded  to  love  with 
a  stronger  affection.  It  is  little  wonder,  then,  that  when 
feelings  like  these, — so  strong,  that  no  time  or  distance 
can  ever  efface  their  influence;  and  so  pure,  that  piety 
itself  imparts  to  them  a  tone  of  deeper  tenderness,  that 
when  feelings  like  these  exert  an  opposing  influence, 
even  the  most  devoted  Christian  should  be  startled  at 
the  first  proposal  of  a  duty  which  speaks  destruction  to 
them  all. 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  153 

It  is  on  this  account  that  I  feel  the  statement  of  facts 
I  have  laid  before  you,  may  not  be  sufficient  to  call  forth 
your  services  to  the  work,  which  loudly  calls  for  them, 
and  in  which  you  profess  to  take  an  interest.  It  is  only 
on  this  account  tiiat  I  feel  that  the  statement  I  have 
made  needs  to  be  enforced  by  arguments.  For  I  be- 
lieve, that  to  a  mind  which  could  take  an  unprejudiced 
view  of  the  matter,  no  reasoning  would  be  required  to 
convince  him  of  the  urgency  of  the  appeal,  and  no  ar- 
gument, however  strong,  could  add  to  the  force  of  the 
simple  statement. 

I  feel,  however,  that  it  is  necessary  to  reason  with 
you.  And  the  main  argument  on  which  I  would  insist, 
is  founded  on  the  commandment  of  our  Saviour :  "  Go 
ye  and  teach  all  nations."  This  has  often  been  re- 
peated by  the  advocates  of  Missionary  exertion;  and 
though  it  may  thereby  have  lost  something  of  its  fresh- 
ness, it  has  yet  lost  nothing  of  its  force.  I  consider  it 
still  the  strong  hold  of  the  Missionary  cause.  But  I  am 
inclined  to  take  a  more  extended  view  of  the  precept. 
Not  only  do  I  look  upon  this  little  verse  as  the  great 
foundation  on  which  all  arguments  for  Missions  must 
be  received, — but  as  the  only  scriptural  authority  which 
we  can  have  for  preaching  the  Gospel  at  all.  I  can 
conceive  many  other  inducements,  which  lead  men  in 
our  own  land  to  profess,  or  pretend  to  be  the  ministers 
of  God.  But  I  believe,  that  every  truly  Christian  min- 
ister in  the  land,  must  rest  the  whole  authority  of  his 
commission  on  this  and  similar  commandments.  Now 
jou  must  all  perceive  the  bearing  of  this  argument-     It 


154  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

places  our  own  country  exactly  on  the  same  footing  with 
the  other  nations  of  the  earth, — and  it  makes  the  work 
of  the  Missionary  abroad,  and  the  Minister  at  home,  one 
and  the  same  work.  The  world  is  the  Jield;  and  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  the  work  to  be  accomplished. 
And  it  is  only  as  far  as  Great  Britain  is  one  of  the 
^'■all  nations"  specified  in  the  terms  of  the  commission, 
that  we  have  any  warrant  from  Scripture  to  preach  the 
Gospel  here.  Grant  me  but  this  view  of  the  subject, 
and  the  question  comes  home  with  irresistible  force. 
How  comes  it  that  all  the  labourers  should  have  con- 
trived to  cluster  together  in  one  little  corner  of  the  vine- 
yard ?  What  special  order  has  been  given  by  the  Lord 
about  this  little  island  on  which  we  dwell  ?•  Or,  in  what 
does  the  vast  superiority  of  its  claims  consist  ?  It  is 
nothing  to  my  argument,  that  in  this  country,  an  eccle- 
siastical  establishment  has  poured  forth  its  benefices 
over  the  land,  and  has  connected  with  the  profession  of 
the  Christian  Ministry,  the  comforts  of  civilized  life,  and 
the  enjoyments  of  a  refined  society, — or  the  opportuni- 
ties of  literary  and  scientific  retirement.  With  the  hire- 
lings that  have  crept  into  the  Church,  at  present,  I  have 
nothing  to  do.  Neither  is  it  any  thing  to  me,  that  nu- 
merous sectaries  with  which  some  of  us  may  be  con- 
nected have  spread  themselves  over  the  land,  and  are 
struggling  for  the  superiority.  I  have  no  sympathy 
with  the  outcry  that  is  made  by  each  rival  party,  about 
the  interests  of  their  cause.  I  know  of  no  cause  that  de- 
mands the  homage  of  our  hearts,  and  our  services,  but 
the  cause  of  Christ.     Now,  strip  our  country  of  these, 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  155 

and  other  accessory  distinctions,  which  I  think  all  of 
you  will  admit,  should  have  no  control  in  giving  it  a 
higher  claim  upon  our  Christian  services,  and  then  tell 
me  wherein  it  differs  from  other  lands,  in  as  far  as  the 
scriptural  argument  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  is 
concerned. 

I  am  persuaded,  that  with  all  our  knowledge  of 
geography,  we  are  accustomed,  from  irresistible  preju- 
dices, to  rate  the  extent  and  importance  of  our  own 
country  much  too  high.  Now,  in  order  to  dissipate 
this  delusion,  and  give  the  subject  a  more  manageable 
appearance,  let  us  try  if  we  can  take  a  reduced  sketch 
of  the  world,  diminishing  every  thing  proportionally, 
just  as  a  land  surveyor  finds  it  convenient  to  draw  upon 
paper  a  reduced  representation  of  the  estate  which  he 
has  been  measuring. 

Let  us  imagine,  that  instead  of  the  world,  a  single 
country  had  been  pointed  out  by  our  Lord  as  the  field  of 
action.  And,  since  we  are  most  familiar  with  our  own 
land,  let  us  just  suppose  that  the  particular  country  spe- 
cified, was  the  island  of  Great  Britain :  and  that,  in- 
stead of  the  command  to  go  forth  into  all  nations,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature, — the  order  had 
been,  to  go  throughout  all  the  counties  of  this  island, 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  inhabitant.  I  find,  that 
on  a  scale  which  would  make  the  population  of  Great 
Britain  represent  that  of  the  world,  the  population  of 
such  a  county  as  Mid  Lothian  might  be  taken  as  a  suf- 
ciently  accurate  representation  of  the  population  of  our 
own  land 

n2 


156  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

In  order,  then,  to  have  a  just  picture  of  the  present 
state  of  the  world,  only  conceive,  that  all  who  had 
received  the  above  commission,  some  how  or  other, 
had  contrived  to  gather  themselves  together  within 
the  limits  of  this  single  county.  Imagine  to  your- 
selves, all  the  other  divisions  of  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land immersed  in  heathen  darkness;  and  that  by 
these  Christians,  who  had  so  unaccountably  happened 
to  settle  down  together  in  one  little  spot,  no  effort  was 
made  to  evangelize  the  rest  of  the  land,  except  by  col- 
lecting a  little  money,  and  sending  forth  two  or  three 
itinerants,  to  walk  single-handed  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  country. 

I  shall  be  told,  however,  that  illustration  is  not  argu- 
ment ;  and  so  distorted  have  our  views  been  on  this  sub- 
ject, that  you  will  be  disposed  to  think  this  a  perfect  cari- 
cature of  the  matter.  But  I  deny  that  this  is  an  illus- 
tration at  all.  It  is  merely  a  representation,  on  a  re- 
duced scale;  and  I  believe  you  will  find  it  to  be  a  correct 
representation  of  the  state  of  the  world.  It  is  no  argu- 
ment against  the  conclusions  of  the  practical  mathema- 
tician, that  his  calculations  have  had  to  do  not  with  the 
very  objects  or  doctrine  themselves,  about  which  he  de- 
termines, but  with  proportional  representations  of  them 
which  he  has  delineated.  The  very  same  thing  holds 
here.  And  if  you  but  grant  the  correctness  of  my  re- 
presentation, then  the  deductions  made  from  it  are  every 
whit  as  conclusive,  as  if  our  minds  could  so  expand,  as 
to  do  away  with  the  necessity  of  the  representation,  and 
could  gather  their  conclusions  with  as  much  ease  from 


IN  TtlE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  157 

the  consideration  of  the  objects  themselves  about  which 
we  reason. 

You  will  permit  me,  therefore,  to  argue  from  the  repre- 
sentation a  little  farther. 

Were  I  to  ask  you  what,  in  the  case  we  supposed,  you 
would  imagine  to  be  the  duty  of  the  ministers  who  had 
clustered  witliin  the  limits  of  a  single  county,  when  their 
commission  embraced  every  county  in  the  land?  You 
would  at  once  reply,  tliat  they  ought  at  once  to  spread 
themselves  over  the  face  of  the  country,  till  every  cor- 
ner of  the  field  shared  equally  in  the  benefit  of  their 
ministration.  Now  I  am  almost  afraid  to  transfer  this 
question  from  the  representation  to  the  actual  case  be- 
fore us.  Not,  but  that  I  believe  I  might  most  legiti 
mately  do  so,  but  because  I  feel  that  I  cannot  carry  along 
with  me  the  sympathies  of  the  Christian  world.  In 
fact,  I  ani  arguing  at  present  for  a  much  humbler  effort, 
than  the  fair  answer  to  such  a  question  would  land  us  in. 
To  return  to  our  ideal  field  of  operation,  let  us  suppose, 
that  even  the  little  band  of  itinerants  began  to  fail,  and 
a  difficulty  was  found  to  recruit  their  numbers.  Let  us 
suppose,  that  the  funds  collected  were  sufficient  to  send 
forth  more  if  any  could  but  be  found  who  were  willing 
to  go.  Let  us  try  if  we  can  fancy  any  thing  in  the 
shape  of  an  excuse,  which  our  professed  evangelists 
could  allege,  for  still  refusing  to  quit  the  little  territory 
to  which  they  had  all  along  so  pertinaciously  adhered. 
Some  might  say  they  did  not  think  it  was  the  proper 
time  to  go  forth.  You  might  meet  them  with  the  un- 
limited command  of  their  Master,  and   especially  his 


158  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

promise,  to  be  always  with  them  in  the  work  to  which 
the  commandment  called  them.  Others  might  say,  they 
did  not  think  those  who  had  gone  forth  already,  had 
taken  the  right  plan,  and  miglit  even  urge,  in  support  of 
this,  that  actually  the  two  or  three  preachers  who  had 
been  sent  forth  had  not  yet  converted  the  country.  The 
direct  reply  to  such  would  be, — The  error  of  another  is 
no  apology  for  your  disobedience.  It  is  only  a  louder 
call  to  you  to  fulfil  the  command  of  your  Lord,  by  some 
plan  which  will  be  more  agreeable  to  his  will.  Such 
excuses  might  be  framed  by  those  who  had  never  co- 
operated in  the  little  effort  that  had  been  made.  But 
can  you  conceive,  that  those  who  had  given  their  entire 
consent  to  the  plan  itself,  and  had  been  zealous  in  send- 
ing forth  others,  could  have  any  imaginable  excuse  from 
shrinking  back,  when  their  personal  services  was  called 
for?  Let  us  try  if  we  can  invent  any.  They  might 
tell  us,  there  were  yet  many  within  the  little  sphere  they 
had  allotted  to  themselves  who  were  yet  unconverted. 
They  might  bear  witness  to  their  own  negligence,  by 
telling  us,  that  actually  there  were  still  some  within 
their  ow^n  sphere  of  action,  to  whom  the  message  they 
had  received  from  the  Lord,  had  never  been  fairly  de- 
livered. They  might  express  their  apprehension,  that  if 
they  began  to  go  forth  over  the  face  of  the  country,  the 
little  spot  which  they  had  hitherto  cultivated  with  so 
much  care,  might  hereafter  be  overlooked  in  the  wide 
field  which  lay  before  them,  and  come  to  be  altogether 
neglected.  And  some  might  even  have  the  effrontery 
to  tell  us,  that  they  quite  felt  the  urgency  of  the  call,  to 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  159 

go  forth  over  the  face  of  the  country;  but  for  their  part, 
they  liad  rather  stay  at  home,  and  persuade  others  to  go. 

You  feel  that  there  is  something  very  ludicrous  in 
the  very  description.  There  is  such  an  utter  discrepan- 
cy between  the  command  and  the  professed  obedience  of 
it ; — between  the  work  to  be  performed,  and  the  scanti- 
ness of  the  means  that  are  expected  to  accomplish  it ; 
betw^een  the  obvious  calls  of  duty,  and  the  frivolous  ex- 
cuses by  which  tiiey  are  evaded.  Now,  would  this  were 
but  an  imaginary  picture  ;  but  it  must  recommend"  itself 
to  all  of  you  as  too  true  a  representation  of  the  present 
state  of  the  world,  and  of  the  kind  of  obedience  which 
the  disciples  of  Christ  render  to  the  last  command  of 
their  Lord  and  Saviour. 

I  have  thus  tried  to  set  before  you,  and  illustrate  my 
main  argument,  that  the  world  is  one  field,  and  conse- 
quently that  every  minister  of  Christ  should  be  ready  to 
go  to  that  part  of  the  field  wherever  it  be,  which 
stands  most  in  need  of  his  services.  You  must  perceive 
that  we  have  taken  it  upon  ourselves  to  circumscribe 
most  unwarrantably  the  limits  of  our  commission ;  and 
that  in  these  days  nothing  adequate  to  the  fulfilment  of 
our  Lord's  command  has  so  much  as  been  attempted. 
I  have  pressed  upon  you  the  loud  demand  that  there  is 
at  present  for  labourers,  in  order  to  maintain  even  the 
comparatively  feeble  effort  which  the  Christian  world 
has  of  late  put  forth ;  and  you  perceived  that  the  objec- 
tions to  this  appeal  just  hinted  at,  appeared  sufficiently 
frivolous.  I  am  aware,  however,  that  on  these,  or  simi- 
lar objections,  the  whole  force  of  your  refusal  to  obey 


160  PERSONAL    ENGAGEMENT 

this  call,  must  rest ;  and,  therefore,  I  feci  it  necessary 
to  take  each  of  them  singly  into  more  serious  considera- 
tion. 

I  shall  say  nothing  concerning  the  argument  that  the 
Heathen  are  not  in  a  fit  state  for  receiving  the  Gospel, 
and  other  similar  objections.  These  are  adduced  only 
by  the  opponents  of  missionary  societies.  I  take  it  for 
granted  at  present  that  I  am  addressing  those  who  give 
their  full  assent  to  the  duty  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  the 
Heathen,  and  who  give  their  decided  approbation  to  the 
plans  that  are  in  operation  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this  grand  object.  The  arguments  which  I  mean  to 
consider  at  present,  are  those  which  are  urged  by  the 
supporters  of  missionary  operations,  when  a  demand  is 
made  for  their  own  personal  services.  Among  the  most 
prominent  of  these,  is  the  assertion,  that  all  are  not  yet 
converted  in  our  own  land,  and  therefore  our  own  coun- 
try has  the  first  claim  upon  our  regard.  The  terms  of 
the  argument  are  very  true,  but  the  conclusion  drawn 
from  it  I  believe  to.be  false.  It  is  a  lamentable  fact, 
that  so  many  in  our  own  land  are  not  under  the  power 
of  the  Gospel.  But  why?  In  by  far  the  greater  number 
of  instances,  because  they  will  not  come  unto  Christ 
that  they  may  have  life.  Have  they  not  had  the  mes- 
sage of  mercy  proclaimed  to  them,  and  what  more  can 
the  messenger  do?  Have  they  not  been  plied,  sabbath 
after  sabbath,  with  the  call  to  repent  and  believe  the 
Gospel,  and  if  they  still  remain  impenitent,  what  more 
can  man  accomplish  ?  can  we  hope  to  do  more  than  apos- 
tles, with  all  their  miraculous  powers,  and  their  unwav- 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  161 

ering  faith  could  effect  ?  When  the  Gospel  was  declared 
by  those  extraordinary  men  who  had  trod  tliis  earth  in 
the  company  of  their  incarnate  God  ;  and  who,  after  he 
left  them,  were  visited  with  the  supernatural  endow- 
ments of  his  Spirit, — the  account  of  their  success  is, 
that  "  some  helieved  the  things  which  were  spoken,  and 
some  believed  not."  And  as  long  as  the  Scripture  doc- 
trine of  election  holds  true,  it  will  still  be  found  where- 
ever  this  Gospel  is  proclaimed,  that  some  will  receive 
the  message,  and  some  will  most  obstinately  reject  it. 
Far  be  it  from  me  to  adduce  the  doctrine  of  election  as 
a  reason  why  we  should  ever  cease  to  ply  with  all  our 
earnestness,  and  admonish  with  all  our  tenderness,  the 
most  hardened  unbeliever,  or  the  vilest  scoffer  at  sacred 
things.  But  I  am  quite  warranted  in  adducing  it,  in 
order  to  show  the  fallacy  of  the  expectation,  that  we  shall 
ever  be  able,  by  any  concentration  of  our  energies  to  any 
sphere,  however  narrow,  to  convert  all  who  dwell  within 
these  limits,  to  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  We  do  well  to 
consider  whether  by  such  expectations  we  be  not  oppos- 
ing the  purposes  of  God.  He  has  given  us  no  reason  to 
indulge  the  hope  that  he  will  choose  his  people  exclu- 
sively from  our  nation,  although  that  nation  has  been 
favoured  very  highly.  He  has  said  that  he  will  take 
one  of  a  city  and  two  of  a  family  ;  and  it  is  said  of  the 
redeemed  in  heaven,  that  they  have  been  gathered 
"  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  na- 
tion." 

But  it  may  be  said,  that  I  am  not  giving  a  fair  view 
of  the  case,  for  that  very  many  in  our  own  land  have 


162  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

never  had  the  message  of  mercy  fairly  proclaimed  to 
them.  This  is  too  true,  and  a  disgrace  it  is  to  the  min- 
isters, and  even  the  private  Christians  of  Britain.  How 
easily  might  the  numerous  evangelical  ministers  of  the 
land,  or  at  least  the  evangelical  ministers  among  the  dis- 
senters, who  are  hindered  by  no  ecclesiastical  authority 
from  preaching  the  truths  where  they  think  it  has  not 
been  fully  declared : — how  easily,  I  say,  might  they  dis- 
pel the  ignorance  that  yet  darkens  the  spiritual  atmos- 
phere of  this  enlightened  country  ?  But,  after  all,  I  do 
not  feel  the  force  of  this  claim  when  weighed  against 
the  claim  of  those  who  are  literally  perishing  for  lack  of 
knowledge.  I  do  believe  that  every  inhabitant  of  our 
land  has  heard  so  much,  as  makes  him  utterly  inexcu- 
sable if  he  be  ignorant  of  the  way  of  acceptance  before 
God.  If  he  sit  under  a  minister  who  perverts,  or  but 
imperfectly  declares  the  Gospel,  he  has  the  standard  of 
truth  in  his  hand,  and  by  the  Bible  he  can,  and  he  ought 
to  try  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God.  If  he  have 
not  a  Bible  himself,  he  has  seen  it  in  the  possession  of 
others,  or  at  least  he  has  heard  that  there  is  such  a  book, 
which  many  believe  to  be  a  revelation  from  Heaven. 
And,  finally,  even  in  the  haunts  of  the  most  abandoned 
depravity,  where  ignorance  and  wickedness  may  have 
spread  a  gloom  as  dismal  as  the  darkness  of  paganism 
itself: — even  there  the  wretched  inmates  are  still  remind- 
ed of  a  God  and  a  Saviour;  if  by  notliing  else,  yet  by  the 
weekly  return  of  a  day  of  unusual  stillness,  and  by  the 
ofl  repeated  and  well  known  invitations  of  the  sabbath 
bell.     But  when  you  urge  as  an  excuse  for  remaining  in 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  163 

this  land,  that  some  within  its  borders  are  yet  ignorant 
of  the  terms  of  mercy.  Do  you,  indeed,  mean  to  wander 
from  parish  to  parish,  and  illumine  every  dark  corner  on 
which  the  light  of  truth  has  not  yet  shown  ?  Or  will 
you  venture,  where  none  have  dared  to  venture  before 
you,  within  the  receptacles  of  vice  and  infamy,  to  pro- 
claim the  tale  of  a  Saviour's  sufferings  to  those  who  may 
never  have  heard  of  his  name  ?  If  you  will  not,  or  can- 
not do  these  things,  then  this  argument  is  no  argument 
for  you. 

Closely  connected  with  this  objection,  that  all  are  not 
yet  converted  in  our  own  land,  there  is  the  apprehension 
lest  a  spirit  of  missionary  zeal  should  damp  the  spirit  of 
exertion  at  home,  and  that  our  own  country  should  suf. 
fer  from  our  attention  to  foreign  lands.  The  spirit 
which  excites  the  apprehension  for  the  eternal  welfare  of 
our  countrymen,  deserves  the  highest  commendation. 
But  depend  upon  it  the  fear  is  quite  unfounded.  I  am 
quite  willing  to  allow  that  our  kinsmen  according  to  the 
flesh,  have  the  first  claim  upon  our  Christian  sympathy. 
It  is  true,  that  as  the  messengers  of  Christ,  and  as  far 
as  the  command  of  our  Saviour  is  concerned,  the  world 
is  all  before  us,  and  no  country  has  any  peculiar  claim 
upon  our  regard.  But  as  men  who  are  linked  to  those 
around  us  by  bonds  so  strong  as  those  of  relationship, 
and  all  the  other  connexions  which  form  the  cement  of 
civil  society,  there  is  no  doubt  something  very  peculiar 
in  the  claims  of  our  native  land.  To  true  patriotism  I 
am  willing  to  allow  all  the  eulogiums,  that  poets  and 
orators  heaped  upon  it.  The  love  of  our  country  is  a  very 
o 


164  PERSONAL  E>'GAGE3IENT 

noble  affection.  But  there  is  a  thing  which  has  been 
misnamed  patriotism,  which  consists  not  so  much  in 
loving  our  own  country,  as  in  despising  and  disregarding 
every  other.  But  surely  it  but  ill  accords  with  the  libe- 
ral sentiment  of  the  present  age,  to  despise  any  brother  of 
the  human  family,  because  he  has  not  sworn  allegiance  to 
the  same  sovereign  with  ourselves  ;  or  because,  forsooth, 
he  happens  to  be  separated  from  us  by  some  river  and 
mountain,  or  imaginary  political  boundary.  Time  was 
when,  in  our  own  little  country,  every  petty  chief  was  a 
monarch ;  and  whatever  may  be  the  associations  that 
romance  has  gathered  around  these  olden  times,  every 
generous  mind  must  look  back  with  detestation  and  dis- 
gust on  that  narrow  minded  spirit  of  clanship,  which 
could  tie  down  the  affections  of  an  individual  to  the  few 
families  that  happened  to  bear  the  same  name,  or  to 
serve  the  same  lord  with  himself,  and  which  pronounced 
him  the  noblest  of  his  clan,  who  hated  with  the  deadliest 
malice  the  whole  world  besides.  But  what  is  this  pre- 
tended patriotism  but  the  dross  of  this  same  detestable 
spirit  We  surely  have  not  need  to  be  told  in  this  age  of 
enlightened  liberality,  that  God  has  made  of  one  blood, 
all  nations  that  are  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  And  if  the 
spirit  of  the  age  cannot  reclaim  us,  Christianity  at  least 
should  reclaim  us  from  such  bigoted  narrowness.  A 
spirit  of  true  patriotism  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  a 
spirit  of  the  most  extended  liberality.  Your  benevolence 
must  overflow  the  narrow  channel,  ere  it  can  dilate  it- 
self over  a  wider  surface.  Just  tell  me  of  a  man  that  he 
is  a  general  philanthropist,  and  I  can  immediately  con- 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  1G5 

ceive  of  that  man,  that  liis  family  and  social  affections 
are  stronger  than  those  of  other  individuals.  There 
may  be  exceptions  to  this  rule,  it  is  true;  for  it  is  quite 
possible  to  find  monsters  in  the  moral  world,  as  well  as  in 
the  natural.  All  I  assert  is,  that  it  is  the  general  ten- 
dency of  an  extended  benevolence  to  unite  us  in  closer 
affection  than  ever,  to  those  objects  which  have  a  near 
relation  to  us.  And,  indeed,  in  the  late  extension  of  our 
Christian  philanthropy  to  other  lands ;  this  principle  has 
been  most  beautifully  illustrated.  Whence  sprung  our 
tract  societies,  our  school  societies,  our  itinerant  soci- 
eties, and  the  other  institutions  that  are  now  in  operation 
for  instructing  the  ignorant  in  our  own  land.  They 
have  all  originated  in  the  impulse  that  was  given  to 
Christian  philanthropy,  by  the  formation  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Society.  The  stream  of  Christian  benevolence, 
when  it  sought  its  way  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  first 
filled  and  overflowed  the  reservoir  that  had  contained  it. 
The  very  consideration  of  the  case  of  those  who  were 
farther  removed  from  them,  made  the  Christians  of  our 
land  take  a  deeper  interest  in  the  situation  of  those  who 
were  connected  with  them  by  stronger  ties.  It  is  on 
this  account  that  I  would  have  you  to  extend  your  views 
still  farther,  till  not  only  would  I  have  you  think  of  our 
country  as  a  little  spot,  when  compared  with  tlie  world ; 
— that  so  you  may  feel  the  close  relationship  that  exists 
between  ourselves  and  our  fellow-countrymen ;  but  I 
would  have  you  think  of  this  globe  itself,  on  which  we 
dwell,  as  but  one  among  the  myriads  that  travel  with  it 
in  their  mighty  journies,  through  boundless  immensity. 


166  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

And  then  will  you  begin  to  feel  that  the  whole  human 
race  forms  but  one  little  family  in  the  universe  of  God. 
We  shall  thus  yet  forget  those  little  distinctions  which 
the  ambition  and  avarice  of  man  has  made  upon  the 
face  of  our  globe.  We  shall  feel  ourselves  to  be  deni- 
zens of  this  earth,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  universe. 
We  shall  feel  that  we  are  united  to  our  fellow-men  by 
stronger  ties  than  the  indefinite  relation  which  subsists 
among  all  the  creatures  of  God.  Are  we  not  united  by 
the  ties  of  a  common  nature  ?  Are  we  not  involved 
in  a  common  calamity,  in  that  we  have  forfeited  the  fa- 
vour of  our  Gk)d, — a  calamity  which,  for  aught  we  know, 
may  have  happened  to  our  race  alone,  of  all  the  families 
of  the  universe  ?  And  is  not  a  common  pardon  offered, 
and  has  not  a  common  Saviour  died  for  us  all  ? 

I  have  thus  tried  to  answer  the  objections  that  spring 
from  an  overweening  partiality  to  our  own  country,  and 
from  the  ignorance  and  unbelief  that  still  exists  there. 
But  by  far  the  most  triumphant  answer  to  all  these  ar- 
guments is  founded  on  the  authority  of  apostolic  exam- 
ple. Paul  the  Apostle  had  a  much  stronger  attachment 
to  his  country,  than  any  modern  patriot  can  boast.  He 
wished  himself  even  accursed  from  Christ,  for  his  breth- 
ren's sake,  and  yet  he  gloried  in  being  the  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles.  But  there  was  feelings  stronger  than  patriot- 
ism, that  bound  the  early  disciples  to  the  land  of  their 
fathers  ; — feelings  which  none  but  an  Israelite  could  ex- 
perience. Their  country  was  the  favoured  land  of  Hea- 
ven. Their  countrymen  were  the  chosen  people  of  God. 
And  if  any  man  urge  as  an  excuse  for  lingering  in  the 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  167 

land  of  their  nativity,  that  all  their  countrymen  had  not 
yet  embraced  the  Gospel,  assuredly  the  apostles  and  early 
evangelists  might  have  used  this  plea.  But  far  diflcrent 
was  their  conduct.  They  thought  it  enough  to  have 
fairly  offered  the  terms  of  mercy  to  tiieir  countrymen, 
and  whea  some  rejected  the  message  which  they  de- 
livered, so  far  from  thinking  this  a  reason  why  they 
should  still  remain,  they  considered  it  as  the  very  signal 
for  their  departure.  They  thought  that  those  who  had 
never  had  the  offer  of  God's  favour,  had  now  a  prior 
claim  upon  their  regard ;  and  they  addressed  their  coun- 
trymen in  such  language  as  the  following : — "  It  was 
necessary  that  the  word  of  God  should  first  have  been 
spoken  to  you  ;  but  seeing  ye  put  it  from  you,  and  judge 
yourself  unworthy  of  everlasting  life,  lo,  we  turn  to  the 
Gentiles." 

There  is  still  one  other  argument,  perhaps  the  most 
plausible  of  all,  against  engaging  in  the  work  of  missions, 
and  to  which  I  beg  very  briefly  to  advert.  It  is,  that  in 
the  present  state  of  matters,  we  can  do  more  good  at 
home  than  abroad.  A  minister  in  this  country,  it  is  said, 
may  make  as  many,  and  sometimes  more  converts,  than 
the  missionary  in  a  heathen  country.  And  the  question 
is  triumphantly  put ; — Vv'hether  the  soul  that  is  converted 
at  the  distance  of  some  thousand  miles  from  our  land  be 
more  precious  than  the  soul  which  is  converted  In  our 
own  neighbourhood  ?  And  whether  it  be  not  a  matter 
of  as  great  thankfulness  and  joy,  that  a  soul  has  been  de- 
livered, from  a  state  of  self  delusion,  though  living  in  a 
'omniry  called  Christian,  as  that  a  heathen  has  been 
o  2 


168  PERSONAL  ENGAGEMENT 

turned  from  idols  to  serve  the  living  God.  The  argu- 
ment has  a  great  semblance  of  fairness,  but  I  think  we 
shall  find  it  to  be  unsound. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  true,  that  in  general  the 
success  of  ministers  at  home  is  greater  than  that  of  those 
who  labour  in  heathen  lands.  And,  secondly,  though  it 
be  allowed  that  the  conversion  of  a  soul  is  not  more  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  because  of  the  place  where  the  conver- 
sion  is  wrought,  yet  there  is  much  in  the  case  of  those 
who  first  turn  to  the  Lord  from  a  nation  of  idolaters, 
that  ma)'  well  fill  our  hearts  with  unusual  joy  and  thank- 
fulness, inasmuch  as  these  are  the  first  fruits  of  a  hith- 
erto uncultivated  field,  and  may  be  regarded  as  the  ear- 
nest of  an  abundant  harvest.  In  the  same  maner,  you 
can  easily  conceive,  how  a  few  grains  of  wheat,  though 
comparatively  little  worth  in  a  cultivated  country,  might 
acquire  an  immense  value  in  a  new  colony,  where  no 
other  seed  could  be  obtained.  Besides,  there  is  much  in 
preparing  the  way.  We  are  not  to  suppose,  that  the 
conversion  of  a  world  is  to  be  the  work  of  one  genera- 
tion. The  ground  must  be  cleared,  ere  we  can  so  much 
as  sow  the  seed,  and  this  must  be  a  season  of  toil,  and 
difficulty,  and  discouragement. 

You  would  perceive  the  fallacy  of  the  objection  now 
under  consideration,  in  almost  any  case  but  the  one  be- 
fore us.  Let  us  suppose  an  accommodation  of  our 
Saviour's  parable  of  the  vineyard,  to  the  present  circum- 
stances of  the  world.  Imagine  to  yourselves  all  the 
husbandmen  to  have  settled  down  in  one  little  fertile  cor- 
ner of  the  vineyard,  and  to  have  left  all  the  rest  with  the 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  169 

soil  unbroken  up,  covered  with  briars  and  thorns,  and 
trodden  down  by  the  beasts  of  the  forest.  When  called 
to  account  for  their  negligence,  you  may  conceive  them 
to  answer  : — '  Our  fathers  have  planted  vines,  and  they 
have  yielded  fruit  luxuriantly  ;  and  we  truly  thought, 
that  we  were  acting  best  for  your  advantage,  in  choos- 
ing  that  spot  for  our  labours,  where  the  fruit  was  most 
abundant'  Who  would  not  see  in  such  a  case,  that 
their  own  ease  had  been  consulted,  and  not  their  mas- 
ter's interest  ?  And  who  could  help  the  suspicion,  that 
they  wanted  to  press  into  their  own  cup  of  the  overflow- 
ing vintage  ? 

I  have  thus  tried  to  set  before  you  the  present  state  of 
the  missionary  cause,  and  the  loud  call  which  there  is 
for  efficient  labourers.  I  have  stated  to  you  the  great 
argument,  that  the  world  is  one  field,  and  that  our 
Saviour's  command  is  not  fulfilled,  so  long  as  the  dis- 
tribution  of  his  ministers  over  this  field  is  so  very  un- 
equal. And,  finally,  I  have  tried  to  answer  some  of  the 
objections  that  are  made  to  personal  engagement  in  the 
work. 

The  matter,  some  time  ago,  presented  itself  very  for- 
cibly to  my  own  mind,  and  I  felt  that  it  at  least  demand- 
ed my  serious  consideration.  As  I  have  proceeded  with 
my  inquiries  on  the  subject,  the  difficulties  seemed  to 
have  gathered  thicker  on  the  prospect,  but  the  convic- 
tions of  duty  have  grown  stronger  too.  The  arguments 
for  personal  engagement,  seem  to  me  to  have  acquired 
the  strength  of  a  demonstration.  I  have,  therefore, 
resolved,   with  the  help  of  God,   to  devote   my  life  to 


170  PERSOrfAL  ENGAGEMENT 

the  cause ;  and  I  have  only  solemnly  to  charge  every 
one  of  you,  who  are  looking  forward  to  the  ministry 
of  Christ,  to  take  this  matter  into  most  serious  conside- 
ration. 

Some  of  you  may  think  that  I  have  not  satisfactorily 
answered  the  objections  which  may  be  urged  against 
personally  engaging  in  the  work, — and  other  objections 
may  possibly  present  themselves  to  some  of  you.  But 
I  ask  you,  seriously,  to  examine  whether  there  do  not 
lurk  under  these  objections,  a  want  of  devotedness  to 
God,  and  a  secret  love  of  the  world.  Why  is  it  that 
there  is  an  eager  competition  for  the  ministerial  office  in 
our  own  land,  where  a  comfortable  salary  is  annexed  to 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel?  And  why  is  it  that  the 
love  of  country  can  be  overcome,  whenever  any  worldly 
advantage  is  to  be  gained  ?  But  when  the  Gospel  is  to 
be  preached  where  there  is  no  reward,  but  the  reward  of 
winning  souls  to  Christ :  and  no  honour  but  the  honour  that 
Cometh  from  God ; — there  alone  the  ranks  of  the  labour- 
ers are  thin,  and  there  deficiencies  can  with  difficulty  be 
supplied.  I  mean  no  uncharitable  insinuations  respect- 
ing your  motives,  but  I  ask  you,  if  too  much  reason  has 
not  been  given  for  the  outcry  that  has  been  made  against 
priestcraft,  by  the  worlding  or  the  infidel ! 

Do  not  think  I  wish  to  press  you  into  this  service. 
It  is  a  maxim,  which  much  experience  has  taught  the 
Moravians,  never  to  persuade  any  man  to  become  a  mis- 
sionary. I  have  laid  the  matter  before  you,  and  I  leave 
it  with  your  own  conscience,  as  you  soon  must  answer 
before  God. 


IN  THE  WORK  OF  MISSIONS.  171 

I  have  the  happiness  to  mention  to  you,  that  your  res- 
pected secretary,  of  last  year,  has  given  himself  to  the 
work;  and  I  know  that  there  are  some  present  who 
have  felt  theurgcncy  of  the  call. 

I  am  not  without  the  hope,  that  even  from  this  unno- 
ticed association,  a  little  band  of  devoted  labourers  may 
be  raised  up,  who  shall  carry  the  name  of  their  Saviour 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  shall  meet  in  another  world, 
to  receive  that  high  reward,  which  is  reserved  for  those 
who  have  left  father,  and  mother,  and  sister,  and  bro- 
ther, and  houses,  and  lands,  for  Christ's  sake,  and  the 
Gospel's. 


